Copps to announce funding for Sikh museum

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NEWS STORY

Copps to announce funding for Sikh museum

Historic Abbotsford temple dates to 1911

Peter O'Neil

Vancouver Sun

Saturday, August 02, 2003

OTTAWA -- Heritage Minister Sheila Copps will announce today a $560,000 federal grant to create North America's first museum dedicated to Sikh history.

The announcement will take place at a temple in Abbotsford that was built in 1911 and was declared a national historic site by Parks Canada last year.

"This is a great step in our dream of establishing the first Sikh museum in North America. It will preserve the culture and heritage of our Sikh pioneers for our younger generations," said Nachattar (Norm) Sangha, president of the Abbotsford Khalsa Diwan Society Temple.

The money will be used to renovate and restore the somewhat dilapidated temple as well as to establish a museum in the basement that will commemorate Sikh history in Canada since the late 1800s.

Sangha said the community first sought help to recognize the temple as a historic site in 1977, but he said most federal grants were focused on preserving Canada's European history and culture.

The latest application was filed in 2000.

"This was long overdue," Sangha said. "The museum will show what we went through to have the rights we have now."

The federal government began restricting immigration from India in 1908 and denied Sikhs the right to vote until 1947.

The museum will recognize major events such as the incident involving the vessel Komagatu Maru, which sailed into the Vancouver harbour in 1914 with 376 Sikhs aboard.

Officials r

efused to let the passengers land and after a two-month stalemate they were sent back to India, where they were charged with trying to overthrow the British. More than 50 Sikhs were executed.

"I've always made cultural resource protection a priority and I'm proud to contribute to the preservation of this site for future generations," Copps said in a draft news release prepared for today's announcement.

"This temple was a gift given to Canadians by our pioneers and it is our duty to preserve it and remember its lessons."

Prominent members of the Sikh community, including federal and provincial politicians as well as B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Wally Oppal, will attend today's announcement.

The Copps leadership campaign, now running a distant second to front-runner Paul Martin going into the November leadership convention, claims it has recruited roughly 8,000 of its 32,000 members in B.C.

At least 80 per cent of the B.C. members are Sikh, according to one campaign official.

But Sangha said the grant from Ottawa has no link to the Copps campaign.

poneilcns.canwest.com

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